streetscape Archive - 101cityscapes

30. Juni 2016Jörg Dietrich

Genoa | Italy | Via XX Settembre | Week 26

Genoa [italian: Genova; latin, german: Genua; french: Gênes], oldest references from the 6th century BC as (a probably greek city) Stalia in Liguria but might have been inhabited much earlier. Lies on the mediterranean coast at the centre of the ligurian coastal arch, south of Milan and in the centre of a triangle with Marseille (west, 300 km), Zürich (north, 325 km) and Rome (southeast, 400km). 6th largest city in Italy, 69th largest city in europe.

Population: 587.000 [2015] | 679.000 [1991] | 591.000 [1931] | 378.000 [1901]

Genoa, also called La Superba (the proud one), is especially known for its glorious past. The Romans renamed it Genua and gave it municipal rights. The city had its golden times as the Maritime Republic of Genoa, especially from the 12th to the end of the 14th century. During that time it was one of the leading maritime powers in the Mediterranean with colonies in the Middle East, the Aegean, Sicily and Northern Africa. It controlled Liguria, Piedmont, Sardinia, Corsica and Nice and had trade outposts in many places, especially in Spain and Constantinople. It had another golden time from the 16th century to the French Revolution when the genoese banks collaborated closely with the spanish crown. A famous son of the city was Christopher Columbus, born here in 1451. During the 19th and 20th century Genoa established itself as a ship-building and industrial powerhouse of Italy. Its Palazzi dei Rolli and the Le Strade Nuove („the new streets“) gave the city an UNESCO world heritage site and in 2004 it was a european capital of culture.

Our streetline presents a section of the southside of Via XX Settembre in Genoa. This major east-west street from the city centre (at Piazza de Ferrari) towards the East and San Vincenzo developed in the late 19th century. The street is crossed by the bridge Ponte Monumentale in its middle, which we can see at the left edge. It is a major shopping and promenading street of the Genoese and lined by representative buildings from the period, especially some of the finest Art Nouveau buildings in the region.

Click for larger view:

For classic view and more infos about the place:

We documented many more streets and places in Genoa. Find some unfinnished examples below.

Via Garibaldi | Strada Nuova

Piazza Caricamento

Palazzo San Giorgio

16. Juni 2016Jörg Dietrich

Barcelona | Spain | Passeig de Gracia | Week 24

Barcelona [latin: Barcino; greek: Varkelóni] founded by the Laietani as Barkeno sometime before 250 BC, later restructured by the Carthaginians and Romans. Lies on the mediterranean coast in north-east spain, about 500 km east of Madrid, 900 km south of Paris and 300 km south-west of Marseille. Second largest city in Spain and 17th largest city in europe.

Population: 1.605.000 (2015) | 1.707.000 (1990) | 1.006.000 (1930) | 544.000 (1900)

Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous spanish region Catalonia and its economic centre. It has always played an important rule as a major harbour on the mediterranean coast and is the seat of the Union for the Mediterranean, an organization of european, african and arabian countries. In 1992 it hosted the Olympic Games and it is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site with works by the modernisme architects Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Gaudís magnum opus, the Basilica Sagrada Familia which was started in 1882 and is scheduled to be finnished in 2026, is a major tourist attraction of europe.

The Passeig de Gràcia is regarded the most elegant street of Barcelona and runs through the Eixample from the Placa de Catalunya in the south to the Gràcia district in the north. Here the leading modernisme architects created several representative buildings in the later 19th and early 20th century. Amongst the architects that worked on this street block we find Lluís Domènech i Montaner with the Casa Lleó-Morera at the left edge, Antoni Gaudí with the famous Casa Batlló, the second last on the right and Josep Puig i Cadafalch with the Casa Amatller on its left side. With all these architects and their distinct styles so close to each other this street block was later famously called the Mansana de la Discordia – meaning at the same time Apple or Block of discord and referencing greek mythology in view of this built competition of Modernisme. Find more infos and detail views in our archive or look for other Barcelona streetlines.

Click for larger view:

For classic view and further details visit the archive (german link):

Another published streetline view of Barcelona is the Placa Reial:

We documented more than 50 streets and places in Barcelona. Find some unfinnished examples below.

Via Laietana, part of this longer panorama:

Via Laietana

Ronda de la Universitat

Plaza del Sol

Parroquia De Cristo Rey

18. Mai 2016Jörg Dietrich

Canterbury | United Kingdom | St Peter’s Street | Week 23

Canterbury [old german: Kanterburg; welsh: Caergaint], first recorded (BC) as the main settlement of the celtic cantiaci tribe, became a Roman City as Durovernum Cantiacorum in the 1st century AD. Situated 80 km east of London and about 200 km west of Brussels on the shores of the river Stour.

Population: 55.000 [2011] | 43.000 [2001] | 24.000 [1931] | 25.000 [1901]

Canterbury was a capital for the celtic Cantiaci and for the Jute Kingdom of Kent, however its most prominent role has been in church history. Here the oldest church of the english speaking world can be found (St Martin’s Church), St Augustine started his apostle work and the christianisation of England here and the archbishop of Canterbury is the Primate of the Church of England. St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury Cathedral and St Martin’s Church form an UNESCO world heritage site. The city is also home to the world’s oldest School, the King’s School. Today the city has one of the strongest economies in the region and is one of the UK’s most visited tourist destinations.

The panorama above shows one of the cities major non-religious landmarks, the Old Weavers House, at the right edge. It was used by the Huguenots and is one of the (still numerous) timber framed 16th and 17th century houses that survived the german Blitz bombings in world war II. St Peter’s street is named after St Peter’s church, which we see a little bit in the back on the left edge. The street connects the High Street at its east end with the Westgate in the west.

To find more published streetline views from the UK visit our United Kingdom archive.

Click for larger view:

For classic view and more infos about the streetview:

We have captured some more streetviews in Canterbury a few of which we present here in unfinnished previews:

Cathedral Gate | Buttermarket | Burgate

Great Stour | Westgate Grove

High Street | Royal Museum

8. April 2016Jörg Dietrich

Edinburgh | United Kingdom | Victoria Street | Week 20

Edinburgh [scottish gaelic: Dùn Èideann; french: Édimbourg], the hill forth Din Eidyn by the Gododdin tribe was built sometime before 600 AD and the city was founded as a royal burgh in the early 12th century. Situated about 70 km east of Glasgow and ca. 550 km north of London on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. 2nd largest city in Scotland, 8th largest city in the United Kingdom and 61st largest city in the european union.

Population: 493.000 [2014] | 419.000 [1991] | 439.000 [1991] | 395.000 [1901]

Edinburgh, lying east of Glasgow in the scottish central belt, has been the capital of Scotland since the mid 15th century, hence it is the seat of the Scottish Parliament and of the monarchy in Scotland. The city is a UNESCO world heritage site since 1995, notably for its Old Town with Edinburgh Castle, the Holyrood Palace and the Royal Mile connecting the two, as well as the planned 18th century Georgian New Town. The city is also home to the National Museum and the National Library of Scotland as well as the Scottish National Gallery. Today the city is known for its strong economic, especially in the financial sector and the tourism industry, as well as its cultural festivals, especially the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe Festival.

Victoria Street is the historical, being called West Bow then, entrance to the Castle Hill from western direction. It was transformed to its current shape in the early 19th century and renamed Victoria Street when Queen Victoria was crowned. Most buildings were errected in the mid 19th century, though some older buildings remained at the foot of the street. Here we see the grand India Buildings from 1864 on the left and the former St. John’s Church from 1838 in the middle.

For more Edinburgh street views visit our Edinburgh Architecture blog post.

Click for larger view:

For classic view and more infos about the street:

We documented several more streetline views in the Old Town and New Town of Edinburgh (see Edinburgh blog post) including the complete Royal Mile. This section of the Royal Mile (Lawnmarket) has been published before:

And a preview of the Royal Mile along the High Street:

Another unfinnished preview of the Jenners department store in the New Town:

28. November 2015Jörg Dietrich

Istanbul | Turkey | Istiklal Avenue | week 13

Istanbul [old english: Constantinople; old german: Konstantinopel, Byzanz], founded as Byzantium by greek settlers around 660 BCE, lies on both sides of the Bosphorus partly on the european and partly on the asian continent, largest city in europe (though not completely situated on the european continent) and 5th largest city in the world.

Population: 14.377.000 (2014) | 6.620.000 (1990) | 741.000 (1935) | 943.000 (1900)

Istanbul is the most prominent and most populous city in Turkey, though the capital is Ankara. However it was the imperial capital for sixteen centuries for the East Roman Empire, the Byzantine, the Latin (being called Constantinople during all that time) and the Ottoman Empire. It is still the seat of the Orthodox Patriarchate. Istanbul is amongst the ten most visited tourist destinations in the world, with its attractive historical centre (an UNESCO world heritage site), its cosmopolitan Beyoglu side, the Bosphorous strait and its asian side.

This is a section of the 1.4 km long Istiklal Avenue (turkish: Istiklal Caddesi) meaning Independence Avenue, also known by its former name Grande Rue de Péra. Until the 1920s it was the cosmopolitan artery of Péra, where lots of greek, italian, french and other foreigners, and especially merchants, lived for centuries. Péra (also called Galata) itself developed as a city next to Constantinople across the Golden Horn under Genoese (and partly Venetian) control from the 13th century. Most of the late Ottoman Style buildings in the street date to the 19th and early 20th century. The street experienced a long decline in the 20th century especially following anti-greek movements between the 50s and 70s. However since the 1990s the street regains its popularity, the old trams run through it again and buildings get restored, as can also be seen in this streetscape panorama.

We documented a number of streets and places in Istanbul, find a preview in our Istanbul overview.

Click for larger view:

For classic view and further details visit the archive: